To think that driving 20 miles to recycle my crisp packets is not the answer?

[PizzaCrunch]

I try to live as waste- free as possible. I buy things like cleaning products in bulky containers and decant into smaller, reusable ones. I re-use the wax paper my bread is wrapped in to wrap other things to keep them fresh. I never ever buy cling film/ sandwich bags. Every plastic bag I get I re-use as many times as I possibly can, either for carrying shopping, to wrap things in, package for posting items or as bin liners for smaller bins. I don't buy pre-packed fruit and veg and take my own tupperware to the meat counter. My milk comes in glass bottles from a milk vending machine at a local farm which I sterilise then re-fill. I re-use my plastic diluting juice jugs for things like mixing screen-wash in or making cleaning solution with bleach for my white work uniform.

There are more but you get the gist. I try to re-use everything in some way and always think before I buy how things are packaged.

There are some items that it seems impossible not to fill the general waste bin with such as crisp packs, sweetie/ biscuit wrappers, pringle tubes and cigarette ends.

A friend has pointed out to me that there is a collection point 20 miles drive from where we live which will accept these items for recycling and that I should take anything I cant recycle there. I visit this town maybe once a month, sometimes less frequently and to be perfectly honest I dont fancy hoarding rubbish in my home until then.

She seemed a bit miffed that I didn't agree with her that it's a good idea.

Also, if its relevant, and I know its not a competition, I am certain she is not half as conscious as me about the amount of unecessary crap we bring into our homes in the form of packaging although she is vocal about it I'm not sure she acts on it.

Am I being selfish not to take this extra step? Im not even sure how they manage to recycle the items in question when nobody else does.

There is a charity in the south east that recycles crisp packets, they will send you a paid ups label for any parcel over 5kg. I started a collection initiative locally, my last collection was 18kg which is obviously a huge amount of empty crisp packets. They also take coffee pods but I have to pay the postage on those. I love seeing how much is being saved from landfill!

No, bombomboobah, she’s a movement of 1 . She started living a certain lifestyle many many years ago, principally for financial reasons. She’s been vegetarian for 40 years, people thought she was a crank then, she’s never driven so uses public transport or shank’s pony (consequently at nearly 82 she’s incredibly fit and healthy), never flies, is on limited income so has charity shopped for years before it was an ethical choice and has always reused and recycled. I think many of her generation do it naturally as a leftover from their wartime upbringing. The world has sort of caught up with her in the last decade!
Signing up to the recycling scheme and leaving the packaging behind are relatively recent, conscious decisions. She’s be one more aware of climate change as we all have and wants to “do her but” - without realising that she’s actually been doing it for most of her life!

Your mum sounds like an older version of me (non flying non driving vegetarian) I'm inspired to hear that she is still going strong 😊

The nearest point to me for recycling Walkers crisps packets according to that link is a private house! Do I just wander up the path and ring the bell? It seems a bit rude to put them through the letterbox.

*weigh up

Our kerbside recycling now takes Pringles tubes so it's worth checking locally for those.

Does anyone know if the Walkers recycling scheme included the outer packets from multi-packs or is it just the foil crisp packets themselves. The materials are similar but different so I'm never sure.